rapper

Chart-topping US rapper XXXTentacion was shot dead in South Florida on Monday, June 18.

The rapper’s latest album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, making it his second consecutive hit record.

The murder

XXXTentacion, whose real name is Jahseh Onfroy, was gunned down outside of a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office announced.

He was taken to hospital soon after where he was pronounced dead.

XXXTentacion had been at RIVA Motorsports checking out inventory, the sheriff’s office said. He was in a black luxury vehicle and preparing to leave when two armed suspects approached him. At least one of them fired, and then both suspects fled the scene in a dark SUV.

Investigators say the attack may have been robbery, as a Louis Vuitton bag was taken from the back seat of the rapper’s car.

The controversy

Despite his huge popularity, XXXTentacion was often described as one of rap’s most controversial artists and was facing domestic violence, aggravated battery and false imprisonment charges stemming from 2016.

According to the Miami New Times, his ex-girlfriend Geneva Ayala’s depositions “detail a pattern of regular, torturous abuse that summer, with daily verbal attacks and physical incidents every three or four days.”

According to Ayala’s statement, he beat her at times, choked her, broke clothes hangers on her legs, threatened to chop off her hair or cut out her tongue, pressed knives or scissors to her face, and held her head underwater in their bathroom while threatening to drown her.

From tough upbringing to number one

XXXTentacion had a troubled upbringing and was expelled from middle school for fighting, but he channelled his energy and fury into music.

He quickly cemented himself as the most popular artist within the SoundCloud Rap genre, defined by its languid, hazy beats and wide-ranging influences.His surging popularity was noted by the music industry and, by October 2017, he had scored a distribution agreement reportedly worth $6 million.

But his career was already being overshadowed by his legal problems. Fans were apparently unswayed, sending his latest album to number one in the US.

The tributes

The rapper, who first found fame by uploading his music onto online music platform SoundCloud, has been hailed as a breakthrough talent as tributes pour in from hip-hop luminaries in the wake of his death.

Kanye West tweeted: “I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here thank you for existing.”

The album, which is the precocious songwriter’s first full-length record, comes over a year after the star first publically announced the album in conjunction with Motown.

When asked where the name of the album came from, Rich Homie Quan said, “I ended up going to jail… I had a [cellmate] by the name of Chicken. He was like, ‘I see your name is Rich Homie. What [does] it stand for?’ I didn’t have a meaning, but the first thing he said was, ‘Rich as in spirit.’ It hit my spirit. I felt it, opposed to heard it. I didn’t hear it. I felt it… It stuck with me. I had to name my first album that.”

With several multiplatinum singles under his belt, Rich Homie Quan found international success and major critical acclaim over the last six years with hits Type of Way back in 2013 and Lifestyle (2014) as part of super group Rich Gang with Young Thug and Birdman.

After a quiet and uncertain two years, the release of the 19-track record has pushed Rich Homie Quan once again to the forefront of the conversation.

Rich as in Spirit Tracklist:

Reflecting

Fuck Wit Me

34

The Author

Same Year

Never Told

No No No

Perfect Flower

Achieving

Deep

Foot Soldier

Let’s Go Up

Changed

Understood

4rm Me to U

Simon Says

Think About It feat. Rick Ross

Bossman

Rich as in Spirit by Rich Homie Quan is available in store and via major digital retailers.